Containers



Nov. 28, 1967 w, DONOVAN 3,355,084

CONTAINERS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 20 2o /4 2o 2O 22 ze2\\m V/ Q FIG. I

DONALD W DONOVHN IN VEN TO BY ATTOIEN w Nov. 28, 1967 0. w. DONOVAN3,355,084

CONTAINERS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 J 22 f I l FIG. HI IF/GN,

DONALD W DONOVAN INVEN TOR 5v 6L Mm 'TTOEN Nov. 28, 1967 D. W. DONOVAN3,355,084

CONTAINERS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 a Sheets-Sheet 5 Q LL 0| DONALD 14/.DONOVAN 1' INVENTOE BY M- M T'roEwEY United States Patent 3,355,084CONTAINERS Donald W. Donovan, Glastonbury, Conn, assignor to MonsantoCompany, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 22, 1965,Ser. No. 500,796 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-28) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amulti-compartmented, self-supporting container formed by molding aplurality of depression pairs in a substantially planar plastic sheet,each pair forming the sides of a compartment when the sheet is foldedbetween the individual depression pairs. The container may be of aone-piece transparent construction with a snap-on cover, may havefastening tabs to hold the depression pairs together when the containeris assembled, and may include sealingprovisions for joining outersurfaces of adjacent compartments, to provide stability to thecontainer.

The present invention relates to containers and more specifically tocontainers having a plurality of compartments or sections for items suchas eggs, vegetables, fruit and the like and to a method for making same.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel andrelatively high strength compartmentalized container for small itemssuch as eggs, vegetables, fruit and the like.

Another object is to provide a multi-compartment package which is simplyand easily fabricated.

A further object of this invention is to provide method and means bywhich to attain the preceding objects.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear herein.

These and other objects are attained by molding a plurality ofdepression pairs in a substantially planar plastic material, eachdepression pair being designed to form opposing sides of a compartmentand then folding the substantially planar plastic material between theindividual depressions making up each pair to produce a container havinga plurality of compartments.

The following drawings are provided for the purpose of illustratingvarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. I is a plan view of a molded sheet having a plurality of depressionpairs prior to being folded.

FIG. II is a side view of the molded sheet of FIG. I.

FIG. III is a side view of the molded sheet of FIG. I after it isfoldedto form compartments.

FIG. IV is a side view of one embodiment of the present inventionwherein a special plastic top is attached to the middle fold.

FIG. V is another side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. IVillustrating its novel utility.

FIG. VI is a plan view of a molded sheet material wherein about one-halfof the sheet has been molded to produce a plurality of depression pairsand the other half is substantially planar throughout.

FIG. VII is a side view of the molded sheet of FIG. VI after it isfolded to form a complete carton having compartments.

Referring to the drawings and more specifically to FIG. I, there isschematically shown a sheet molded to produce a plurality of depressionpairs 12, each depression 14 is designed to be one side or half of acompartment when the sheet is folded along fold line 16 in the directionsuch that the concave sides of the depressions face each other. When thesheet is folded in the opposite "Ice direction along the central foldline 18, the configuration shown in FIG. III is attained. To maintainthe fold of FIG. III, tabs 20 situated along the edges of the moldedsheet are hooked together as shown by engagement of slits 22 cut intothe side of each tab 20. In addition the two adjacent compartments thatare formed are sealed together by an adhesive or by fusion at their areaof contact 24. This latter seal is extremely important for without it,the entire package will be unstable and not suitable for containingfragile and other items. In summary, a sheet can be formed or molded toform plurality of shallow depression pairs which can be subsequentlyfolded to produce a container having plurality of relatively deeplyrecessed compartments.

FIGS. 1V and V illustrate a rather unique embodiment of the presentinvention wherein a plastic cover 26 is affixed to the middle fold 28 bybuttons 30, molded into the plastic cover, being forced through holes inthe middle fold 28. Although this is considered to be a rather uniqueway of affixing the cover to the folded portion, it is obvious thatothermethods of attachment may be relied on. FIG. V illustrates the manner inwhich the featured package is utilized. More specifically cover 26 hasoverlapping edges 32 which maintain the side 34 in place. When the coveris lifted on one side the contained articles are released such as shownin FIG. V. In fact, when the package is resting on a level surface andthe cover has been open on one side, the items are exposed for easywithdraw from the package.

An alternate embodiment is disclosed in FIGS. VI and VII wherein a sheetor blank 40 is molded to produce a plurality of depression pairs 42having individual de pressions 44 which can be folded along fold lines46a and 46b, such that the concave sides of the depressions are foldedtowards each other, to produce deeply recessed compartments. The sheetis then folded the opposite way along fold line 48 to present two rowsof deeply recessed compartments after which the unmolded side or coverportion 50 is folded over the double row of compartments at fold lines52 to produce the container shown in FIG. VII. The opposing lip portions54 and 56 on opposite sides of sheet 40 are in contact in FIG. VII andif desired may be sealed by heat, adhesive, stapled, etc. to produce acomplete package having relatively deeply recessed compartments formedby molding relatively shallow depressions in a substantially planarplastic material.

The above description and particularly the drawings are set forth forthe purpose of illustration only and not for the purpose of limitation.Although the illustrated embodiment is one having a particular utilityfor eggs, the container of the present invention may be shaped to storeand display fruits, vegetables, confections, baked goods, toys andornamental articles such as tree ornaments and the like. u r

The plastic material from which. the container is formed may be anyplastic which can be manufactured in substantially planar form and whichcan be folded Without causing rupture along the line of fold.Structurally, the plastic material may be cellular or non-cellular aslong as the material is sufiiciently self-supporting to hold the itemsit is designed to contain. Generally, the thickness of non-foamedplastic material will range between about 5 to 50 mils while thethickness of foamed plastic material will range between about 15 to 250mils. Preferred materials are those polymer plastics based on styrene. Aparticularly useful material is biaxiallyoriented polystyrene, a rigidtransparent plastic. Other suitable resins (foamed or non-foamed) whichmay be used are isotactic polyethylene or polypropylene; styrene,copolymers, for instance styrene-acrylonitrile copolyme'rs;polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polycarbonates;

polyvinyl chloride; polyethylene terephthalates and the like.

As previously indicated, the sheet material from which the container isformed may be of any type which can be molded to produce a container ofthe type described. The most advantageous aspect of the presentinvention is that the entire container if desired can be molded from asingle sheet of plastic material. In other words, the sheet material canbe molded and subsequently folded and sealed together at the outercontacting areas of adjacently folded compartments to produce aself-sustaining container having a plurality of compartments. If desiredthe container may be locked together by tabs located along the sides ofthe sheet or sealed by adhesive heat and the like. The important aspectis that a complete container can be manfactured having a plurality ofrelatively deeply recessed compartments by simply molding a series ofrelatively shallow depressions in a plastic sheet material andsubsequently folding. Furthermore, the sheet can be molded in such a waythat when the molded sheet is subsequently folded not only is amulticompartmented receptacle created but also a cover portion whichfolds over the top and completely encloses the compartments.

The shallow depressions which are formed in the plastic material may beof various shapes to accommodate a wide variety of irregularly shapedarticles. The shape of the depression should closely approximate atleast one side of the outside contour of the article to be contained. Inthis manner, a snug fit will be obtained which will serve to greatlycushion the article against damage from shock caused by impact. Ifdesired, the depressions may be formed such that after folding, eachcompartment has a restricted neck portion in proximity to its open end.In other words, the sheet is molded to produce compartments whichsubstantially surround the contained articles. In this instance, thearticles would obviously be removed by opening the fold between theopposing depressions making up the compartments. In line with the above,the depressions may be formed to substantially surround articles of anyshape such as square, oval, round, cylindrical and the like.Furthermore, although the illustrated embodiment is folded to produce adouble row of compartments, it is obvious that the sheet could be moldedand folded to produce several rows of compartments if desired.

The container of the present invention can be readily manufacturedbecause only shallow depressions need be formed in the plastic sheet.Consequently, any suitable method for molding may be relied upon. Forexample, vacuum, positive pressure or plug assist type of moldingoperations may be utilized to produce the container of the presentinvention. The shallow depth forming is particularly advantageous inthat the container walls are maintained rather uniform throughout asopposed to the difficulty of maintaining uniform thicknesses oncontainers which must be deeply drawn.

As can be readily appreciated, the present invention provides acontainer for holding a plurality of items and which is extremely simpleto fabricate. In other words, a

single sheet may be converted by a relatively simple molding operationinto a completely self-sustaining package having a plurality ofcompartments shaped to accommodate a wide variety of irregularly shapeditems. In addition, its adaptability to high speed production operationsis particularly unique.

The above description and particularly the drawings are set forth forpurposes of illustration only. Many variations and modifications thereofwill be obvious to those skilled in the art and can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention herein described.

What is claimed is:

1. A one-piece, self-supporting, multi-compartmented container of rigidpolystyrene, which comprises a substantially planar plastic sheet whichhas been molded to form a plurality of depression pairs, each depressionpair being designed to form opposing sides of a compartment when thesheet is folded between the individual depressions making up the pairwith portions of the outer surfaces of adjacent compartments being fusedtogether, said container having at least one cover flap located at theedge of the sheet which is designed for snap attachment with anotherportion of the sheet and at least two pairs of fastening tabs on itsedges for engagement when the sheet is folded between the individualdepression pairs.

2. The container according to claim 1 wherein the polystyrene isbiaxially oriented and substantially transparent.

3. A self-supporting package comprising a multi-compartmented containerof rigid, oriented polystyrene, which comprises a substantially planarplastic sheet which has been molded to form a plurality of depressionpairs, each depression pair having a major axis and a minor axis, andbeing designed to form opposing sides of a compartment when the sheet isfolded between the individual depressions making up the pair, fasteningmeans for joining portions of the outer surfaces of adjacentcompartments which are formed when the sheet is folded between theindividual depression pairs, latching means projecting outwardly of theedges of said sheet which are parallel to the major axes of thedepressions, to keep the depressions together when the container isassembled, a cover designed for snap-on engagement with an edge portionof the container, and affixing means associated with a surface of thecover and a surface of the container comprising a projection on one ofsaid surfaces which fits within a cooperating opening in the other ofsaid surfaces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,154,194 4/1939 Benoit 229-292,474,391 6/ 1949 Bergstein. 2,961,123 11/1960 Boydak et al. 229-293,043,354 7/ 1962 Fitzgerald. 3,131,846 5/1964 Whiteford 22929 X JOSEPHR. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Examiner.

1. A ONE-PIECE, SELF-SUPPORTING, MULTI-COMPARTMENTED CONTAINER OF RIGID POLYSTYRENE, WHICH COMPRISES A SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR PLASTIC SHEET WHICH HAS BEEN MOLDED TO FORM A PLURALITY OF DEPRESSION PAIRS, EACH DEPRESSION PAIR BEING DESIGNED TO FORM OPPOSING SIDES OF A COMPARTMENT WHEN THE SHEET IS FOLDED BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL DEPRESSIONS MAKING UP THE PAIR WITH PORTIONS OF THE OUTER SURFACES OF ADJACENT COMPARTMENTS BEING FUSED TOGETHER SAID CONTAINER HAVING AT LEAST OEN COVER FLAP LOCATED AT THE EDGE OF THE SHEET WHICH IS DESIGNED FOR SNAP ATTACHMENT WITH ANOTHER PORTION OF THE SHEET AND AT LEAST TWO PAIRS OF FASTENING TABS ON ITS EDGES FOR ENGAGEMENT WHEN THE SHEET IS FOLDED BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL DEPRESSION PAIRS. 